Meena’s Saturday
by Kusum Mepani; illus. by Yasmeen Ismail
Primary    Kokila/Penguin    40 pp.
10/24    9780593110317    $18.99
e-book ed.  9780593110324    $10.99

This captivating ode to weekly gatherings of friends and extended family brims with affection for foods, activities, and traditions shared by a loving, large group crowded together in the narrator’s home. Mepani revels in specific references to Gujarati Indian culture within an immigrant experience in an Anglophone country. Young Meena, with her precocious, fierce perspective, is the star of the story. Beginning with early-morning chai, Meena narrates shopping and meal preparations overseen by her mother, greeting beloved cousins and other guests, watching Bollywood films and dancing, and finally enjoying a splendid feast. All the while, she questions strict gender norms, notes the tightly knit fabric of her community, and offers matter-of-fact commentary on her bicultural, bilingual experience. It’s a testament to Mepani’s writerly chops that such reflections feel integral to the storytelling and never tacked on; illustrator Ismail meets and enhances this achievement. Busy, vibrant mixed-media pictures of Meena and her friends and family bear stylistic resemblance to Bob Graham’s, Helen Oxenbury’s, and Quentin Blake’s work but are entirely Ismail’s own. An excellent pick for any day of the week.

From the November/December 2024 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.